Meaning of Past, Present and Future
by countrybutterfly
Summary: Five years after the series finale, a new possibility allows Ben and Michael to expand their family. As his family grows, Ben reconnects with his own parents, and family.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Five years after the series finale, a new possibility allows Ben and Michael to expand their family. As his family grows, Ben reconnects with his own parents, and family.

Note: So I realize the summary isn't the best, but I came to the realization while watching QAF not too long ago that the only mention of Ben's family we really get is a brief mention of his mother and the area he grew up in. There's not too much there about his past before he was infected. And I decided it was a topic I wanted to explore. For fans of the other characters, they won't be left out too much although the main focus is the Michael/Ben and Ben's family.

Also this is my first QAF fic…I don't own the show…I only lay claim to my interpretation of Ben's family.

Enjoy

* * *

"Mikey, remind me how we got here?" Brian Kinney's voice came from the New York end of the phone line with in moments of Michael picking it up.

"Got where?" Michael asked, mouthing 'Brian' to his husband who was looking away from the animated movie playing for the five year old and three year old sitting on either side of the professor.

"Here. New York _and _Pittsburg…" Michael listened confused for a moment, knowing while Brian had his own way of expressing himself, this was on the verge of a very un-Brian Kinney conversation. He heard a voice in the background and it clicked.

"You me fully abandoning your principles…opening a second office in New York, so that you could follow Justin…"

"I did not follow."

"Fine…joined Justin…and decided to give the 'family-thing' a shot."

"That's what I mean."

"I believe it was a combination of facing up to the fact you couldn't be an 'over-the-hill-club-boy' and, dare I say falling in love" Michael teased before turning serious, "What's going on, Brian? What's with the life evaluation?"

He could hear Brian take a deep breath, "It's happened." He repeated a line from nearly ten years ago. "Daphne gave birth to Justin's…" Justin's voice came from the background forcing Brian to correcting himself, "_Our…_daughter."

"What? Wow…congratulations, Brian…when?"

"About a half an hour ago…"

"We'll have to come up to see…"

"No, you don't, Mikey…You and the Professor are expecting your own bundles of joy from our favorite lesbians soon, and besides, I've been thinking about scaring the shit out of Theodore and making a surprise visit to the Pittsburgh office."

"Why? To prove you still have some asshole left in you?"

"Of course, listen…I'm being summoned…"

"Sure…I'll..."but he laughed as he realized that he was now the only one on the line now. He placed the receiver back and made his way over to where the movie was approaching its end. He picked up J.R, who was staying with them as she did every summer, placed her on his lap as he sat next to Ben.

"What did Brian want?"

"Him and Justin now have a daughter."

"Daddy, shhh, the princess is talking."

Ben laughed and whispered, "We'll talk after later."

Later occurred nearly an hour later after both of the girls had been bathed and put to bed. Ben sat finishing his latest chapter on the note pad, while Michael crawled in.

"I can't believe Brian has a daughter…its just a little hard to believe."

"I know what you mean…I feel sorry for when she starts dating…"

Michael laughed, "He said they'd come visit, since we'll be pretty busy ourselves."

Ben smiled setting his pad of paper to the side, and wrapping his arm around, "I know, can you believe it?" Ben caught sight of Michael's face, "Michael, what is it?"

"I don't know…I-I was just wondering if you think you should call your family…maybe they'd want to know too?"

Ben face fell, "Michael, I haven't talk to them in over ten years…"

"Then isn't about time you did? Look at everything that's happening…I know you've told me abut what happened, but that's in the past…and if you let that stop you that goes against the whole 'living in the now' we've been maintaining."

Ben smiled at the fact his husband was using his own logic against him, "Fine, I'll think about it…"

"Good," Michael stated, twisting to kiss him before rolling on his side to fall asleep.

Ben simply stayed still, having the feeling it would be one of those nights. One of those nights where he wouldn't get a lot of sleeping, one of those nights he spent thinking. He couldn't blame Michael, the same thought had started to plague him as well. He hadn't spoken to them since a little before he met Michael, when he had confessed he was HIV positive and his parents, who had been so supported, had more or less pulled a Debbie on him.

But Michael had a point, it had been a while…and more than anything he was aware of how much had changed. Quietly he pulled the cover off and made his way to door way of the room next door. Five year old Jenny Rebecca slept in the bed on the left across from the toddler bed which was occupied by three year old Lilia, who they had adopted nearly two years ago…when Hunter had moved into an apartment of his own.

He closed the door gently and made his way to sit in what used to be Hunter's room and now housed two identical cribs. He wasn't aware of which day of the last nearly two years he found more unbelievable. The day shortly after they had brought Lilia home, when the doctor said thanks to new discovery, he could father a child…or day Melanie called to say it had worked…or the day when she called to say it was twin boys.

And now he dealt with nights like this, that despite Michael's reassurance he still worried. That yes, he was going to be a father, biologically this time, but for how long? The scientific community had yet to answer that question, there was going to be day when he wasn't here anymore and it could be when they were five or twenty.

"One of those nights?" Michael's voice interrupted from the doorway.

"Yeah." Ben nodded.

"What were you thinking about?"

"Them…" he said gesturing towards the cribs, "And what you said…"

* * *

_**Until next time, this is me…signing out**_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two"

Sixty-Eight year old Karen Bruckner stood for a moment in the living room of her New York home taking a moment to rest from an afternoon with her one of her grandchildren. She was a woman who had spent her entire life being busy; teaching, raising four kids, and helping out in the community and now raising a grandchild, but now her pace had been slowed considerably thanks to a heart attack six months ago. She had been forced to retire from work and several of her community activities, but she'd be damned if she was going to sit around and do nothing.

She sighed and began to make her way back towards the kitchen to start dinner before her husband and granddaughter came home. The hallway that led between the living room and the kitchen was lined with pictures of her family and as always she stopped to look at them. Most of the pictures were new, the pictures of her kids growing up were in her bedroom. Pictures of her oldest, Noah, an architect, and his family outside their California home were next to pictures of Grace and her teenage daughters that had been adopted from Africa, and baby daughter adopted from a local program just a few months ago. Karen's eyes grazed over a few more of family events, and eventually fell on a couple of the pictures that looked as though they might not belong. They hung there faded, years old, having not been updated for years. A picture of her third child, Ben, who she had spoken to in over a decade, next to a picture of her youngest Lily holding her daughter Anna; a picture that had been taken shortly before Lily had died.

Taking a deep breath Karen moved to finish her journey as the back door opened where her husband and Anna entered.

The sixteen year old carried a brown paper sack, "Oh, good you didn't start dinner, yet…I got paid today, so I wanted to buy us dinner tonight."

"I could just as soon as made dinner, you should be saving that money up for your future…"

"Well, I'm picking buying a dinner for the three of us over a future night out…most grandparents would find that sweet and endearing…" The girl laughed as she set the food on the table, "Gramps did."

Reid Bruckner let out a soft chuckle making his way over to his wife, "Calm, Karen, it's one dinner."

Just as he was pulling the chair out for his wife, the phone on the wall began to ring, the older man sighed and started to turn his attention, but was stopped by his granddaughter.

"No, you stay…I'll get it." She smiled making her way over to the phone, "Hello…um-hmm, can I ask who's calling…oh, yeah of course…" She turned towards the two at the table, "Gramps…i-i-it's for you…it's Ben."

"Tell him I'm eating, we'll talk about work tomorrow."

"Not Benny…Ben…_Uncle Ben._"

It took a moment before the name clicked, and instantly set the sixty nine year old into motion with a look at his wife, he took the phone from the teenager.

"Ben?"

"Hey, Dad." Reid sighed, he had almost given up hearing that voice.

"Ben, son, it's good to hear your voice…" Then the thought hit him like a sharp knife, "Are you okay? Is something wrong…"

"Oh, no…Oh, I'm sorry. No, I'm fine…I actually had that checked out recently, and the doctors say I'm doing good…"

"That's good news." The older let out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, uh…how's everyone up there?"

"I'm surrounded by women…Your brother moved out to Los Angeles with his wife, they just had girl number four, and Grace lives down the street with her three, and the two ladies of the house here. All granddaughters…"

He heard his son's laugh from the other line, "Wow…How's mom and Anna?"

"Good. Good…We're just sitting down to dinner."

"Oh, sorry…"

"No, no…it's fine…it's really good to hear your voice…what about you, what have you been up to?"

There was a pause as heard a small intake of breathe, "That's actually, kind of why I was calling…Dad, when I left…I wasn't really planning on looking or coming back, but a lot has changed…I guess for all of us, and well, I know Mom's birthday is in a couple of weeks, and we have to drive up to Toronto…And I was wondering if it was alright if we took a detour for a day, or a few…there's a few people I want you guys to meet."

"Yeah, of course, of course…do these people have names? Give me something to prepare for?"

"Yeah, um, there's Michael…we got married in Toronto almost six years ago…"

"Married, wow…is he…?"

"Negative? Yes. But then there's Hunter who's twenty-two, we adopted him when he was seventeen, Jenny Rebbecca is five, almost six, she's Michael's daughter and lives with her Moms in Toronto, but stays the summer with us. Then Lilia…"

The older man smiled at the name, "Lilia?"

"Uh-huh, she's three, we adopted here a couple a years ago..and then there's the twins…"

"Twins?" And Reid noticed that the two women at the table we now more keyed in on him then ever.

"They just arrived yesterday. They're mine…thanks to medical technology…Miles Daniel, and Jaime Reid…"

"Three…I have three grandsons."

* * *

"Married…five kids…" Karen muttered pulling back the bed sheets, "I wonder if that's such a good idea in his condition…"

"Hun, he's doing fine…"

"Now he is, but what about in five years…"

"He's a smart man, I'm sure he didn't just jump without thinking. He sounds like he's gotten his life together."

"I just…"

"I know you just, but he's talking to us, so forgive me if I'm okay with that. Babe, it's his life…forgetting that made us lose him in the first place. We've just got to take this one step at a time."

* * *

_**Until next time, this is me…signing out.**_


End file.
